Tim Pernetti is out as Rutgers athletic director in the wake of the Mike Rice practice controversy. Pernetti resigned "reluctantly" and wrote in his letter of resignation that his first instinct upon seeing Rice's actions toward players in practice was to "fire him immediately."

Pernetti was hired as athletic director for the Scarlet Knights in 2009 and has been praised by many for his work in getting Rutgers to the Big Ten.

On Wednesday, Pernetti fired Rice after videos showing verbally and physically abusive practices surfaced on ESPN. At the time of the offense, Rice was suspended for just three games. On Tuesday, Pernetti defended that position.

Pernetti, a 1993 Rutgers graduate, played a pivotal role in getting Rutgers out of the Big East and into the Big Ten, where it will begin competing in 2014. According to ESPN, as a result of the change in conferences, Rutgers will increase its media rights revenue from about $3 million a year in the Big East to more than $40 million annually by 2017 in the Big Ten.

He was praised then. Now, he is lambasted for his handling of Rice.

"As you know, my first instincts when I saw the videotape of Coach Rice's behavior was to fire him immediately," Pernetti wrote in his letter of resignation. "However, Rutgers decided to follow a process involving university lawyers, human resources professionals, and outside counsel.

"Following review of the independent investigative report, the consensus was that university policy would not justify dismissal. I have admitted my role in, and regret for, that decision, and wish that I had the opportunity to go back and override it for the sake of everyone involved."

University president Robert L. Barchi says while he was given a "summary description" of the practices, he didn't see the videotapes until Tuesday night, and fired Rice the next day.

"It was a failure of process," Barchi said. "I regret I did not ask to see the video when Tim told me. I'm certain this situation would have had a very different outcome."

One consequence of Rice surviving the season, rather than being fired on the spot, was the coach received a $100,000 bonus.

Assistant coach Jimmy Martelli, also seen on video throwing basketballs at players and using obscene slurs, resigned on Wednesday.

"I am sickened that as an assistant coach I contributed in any way to an unacceptable culture," Martelli said in a statement given to The Associated Press. "Wednesday I resigned from Rutgers and I hope that coaches on all levels will learn something important from these events. For my actions, I am deeply sorry and I apologize to the players from the bottom of my heart."

Pernetti was told of the coaches' behavior last summer by staff member Eric Murdock. No action was taken until November when Murdock gave Pernetti video evidence. After an internal investigation, Pernetti suspended Rice for three games and issued him a $50,000 fine.

The specific reason for Rice's suspension was unknown until ESPN's "Outside the Lines" exposed the videos.

University professors, politicians and others called for the immediate firing of Pernetti, who was recently named one of the top athletic directors in the country.

Stephen Sweeney, president of the state Senate, was among those calling for Pernetti's dismissal.

"This incident will continue to hang over Rutgers like a dark cloud for weeks, months and perhaps years to come," Sweeney said in a statement on Thursday. "It seems pretty clear that things were not handled well from the start."

Still, there were players who came to Rice's defense and never wanted to see their coach fired by Pernetti.

Sophomore forward Austin Judge believes some of those moments come across worse on camera than they really were.

"Honestly, a lot of the things that have been seen have been taken out of context. A lot of things that aren't seen are when we grab him and kid around," Judge said. "Like I said before, when people ask me why did I play for him, I told them 'He's a players' coach.'

"Mike was almost like a big brother. He would get on the floor with us and go through drills with us. He made it fun. When you have a big brother-type of figure, you know you can play around like that. I have grabbed Mike and put him in a headlock and we joke around and kid. That was the type of relationship he built with his players."

From the outside looking in, Rice's treatment of players went overboard—even to those closest to the game, like Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim.

“You know, I get verbal. I'm on players. I don't like to curse. I do curse sometimes,” Boeheim said. “You get out of control, just things come out when you're in the heat of the moment. But you can't touch a player other than just on the shoulder or something, and you certainly can't push 'em and grab 'em or throw something at 'em.

“I have thrown a ball, and it's usually up in the stands, and last time I hurt my arm, so I don't throw them anymore.”

According to a letter obtained by myCentralJersey.com, Murdock—the program’s former director of player development—sought $950,000 from the university last December to settle his claims of wrongful termination. Rutgers declined to renew Murdock’s contract last June, reportedly after a falling-out between Murdock and Rice.

Murdock claimed he was fired for being a whistleblower about Rice’s physical and verbal abuse of players.

By multiple accounts, Pernetti was supportive of the Scarlet Knights' student-athletes—current and former.

In 2010, football player Eric LeGrand was paralyzed as a result of injuries sustained in a game.

"When you're in a situation like I have been for the past 2½ years, you truly see the character of people," LeGrand told the Star-Ledger. "Tim Pernetti has shown me and Rutgers how great of a person he really is, and how much he really cares."

But there were many, clearly, who don't believe he cared enough for the basketball players who had to endure Rice's wrath.